...to humble you and to test you and in the end to do you good.
Deuteronomy 8:16
Deuteronomy -- the “second law,” – is a reaffirmation of the covenant between God and the people of Israel -- the words of Moses in more “contemporary” words. He does not mince them. He reminds the people, "Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness … If you do forget the Lord your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish." Among “other gods” we follow are things. We love our things, our gadgets and gizmos. We tend to believe if we work hard enough, we have earned them and we deserve them. The prophet warns, “… do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery… Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…” He brought us through the “great and terrible wilderness” and made miracles of manna and water from a rock to humble and test us so that we would know Him.
And all that he asks is that we love Him with all our hearts, all our souls and all our minds, and that we love our neighbors as ourselves. Is that too much to ask?
Val Hymes
